


It's Not the Butter

by nuclearpolymer



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: hp_getlucky, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-05 13:15:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14045037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nuclearpolymer/pseuds/nuclearpolymer
Summary: Luna finds a lucky charm, but Harry’s the one hoping for some luck.





	It's Not the Butter

Professor Sprout looked cheerful, despite the cold rain. “I’m glad to see so many of you here for this week’s extra credit Herbology activity. Today, we’ll have a chance at some hands-on harvesting. As you may remember, the day of the new moon is the best time to get red campion seed pods. It’s a bit early in the year, but there’s been a lot of sunshine already, so hopefully you’ll find enough to get a nice batch of snake-bite potion started. You’ll want to look for red campion in the same places that clover grows.”

As the students reluctantly set forth, she handed out green umbrellas. “Absolutely no magic while you’re harvesting! Any sort of rain deflection or heating spells will prematurely dry the seed pods.”

Seamus jostled Dean, and the boys prodded each other with their umbrellas, not bothering to avoid the rain. “These umbrellas make me feel like a leprechaun,” Seamus said. “I just need a pipe and a pot of gold to start dancing around.”

“Pots of gold are a bit thin on the ground around here, mate. But maybe you’ll find a lucky four-leaf clover, if you look hard enough.” said Dean.

“Oh no,” said Luna. “You can’t look for luck that way. The only really lucky four-leaf clovers are the ones that are found accidentally.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Hermione objected. “How could anyone come across a four-leaf clover when they aren’t looking in a clover patch? It’s not like a few clover leaves are likely to turn up when you’re looking around for a misplaced quill, or a pair of gloves.”

Neville shrugged. “My Gran says the same thing as Luna. The harder you look for a four-leaf clover, the less luck it can give you. It’s never going to be as strong as the felix felicis potion, and only works for a day and a night, but an accidentally plucked four-leaf clover is pretty powerful, because it’s rarer than rare for anyone to find one.”

“So that’s why it hasn’t been working for me!” said Harry. “I didn’t know about having to find one accidentally.”

“Oh is that why you wanted to come to extra credit Herbology, Harry?” Hermione asked. “Why do you need extra luck, anyways?”

Luna watched Harry deploy his best tactics to dodge Hermione’s questions. He pointed to a clump of flowers. “Do these red campion seed pods look ripe to you? The flowers haven’t started to dry out yet,” he asked. Luna was tempted to help him by creating a distraction, but she was curious how he would answer.

“Oi, I have an idea!” Ron held one hand dramatically over his eyes, and bent down to snatch a handful of clover mixed with red campion.

“Those aren’t ripe yet!” Hermione objected.

“That’s not the point,” said Ron. He quickly looked at his handful of crushed leaves and let them drop to the ground. “Yoohoo, leprechauns, look at me. I’m just out here trying to find red campion seeds. Not looking for four-leaf clovers at all. No siree, not one bit.” He blindly grabbed more clumps of greenery, throwing some in the air. The wet leaves stuck onto his classmates’ clothes, and Hermione shook some out of her hair.

“Oww! What was that?!” Ron looked closely at his hand. “Blimey, I’m bleeding. Something bit me! Something with really weird teeth.”

Neville examined the tiny half circle of puncture marks on Ron’s palm, and immediately dropped to his hands and knees, looking frantically through the vegetation at their feet. “Everyone, watch where you step! Ron might have been bitten by a rare type of fanged sundew. Look for a plant with knut-sized rings of little black teeth waving around on stems, about three inches tall.”

Everyone peered carefully around their feet, but Luna was the only one who joined Neville in crawling on the ground. “Like this? I’ve never seen a goth vampire sundew before,” she said, carefully poking one of the gaping mouths with a clover blossom. The sundew clamped down on the flower she held, tore it from the stem, grunted, and spit it out.

“Should we transplant a sample for Professor Sprout?” asked Hermione, handing Luna a jam jar. “There seems to be a pretty large patch here.” With careful teamwork, Neville and Luna managed to dig up a clump of the resentful plants without any further bloodshed, and the group of students returned to the greenhouses.

* * *

Luna got back to her common room after the other Ravenclaws, since Professor Sprout had wanted to see exactly where she’d found the rare species. As she waited for the guardian’s question, she tried to brush the dried mud and leaves off her robes.

“What do you give away but get back tenfold?” asked the eagle at the portal.

“Extra vegetable marrows,” answered Luna.

“Well, yes, that does happen, though I was thinking a bit more poetically,” said the eagle. “Look down; you dropped something you’ll want.”

Confused, Luna lit her wand and examined the floor in front of the portal. “Yes, that piece of mud does look a bit like a heart,” she said, picking it up carefully. “Oh! Thank you, Mr. Eagle. There’s a lucky four-leaf clover stuck to it!” The portal swung open, and Luna skipped up to her room.

While she washed up for dinner, she wondered what form her good luck might take. Anything might happen. There might be her favorite pudding for dinner, or she might find a new hidden staircase...or Harry might finally really see her, the way that she always saw him.

After dinner, Luna finished making a drawing of the goth vampire sundew, and thought more about luck. The pudding had been nice, but wasn’t her favorite. No new staircases had appeared, though she’d tapped carvings in doorways and jumped on and off flagstones. Harry had waved at her when they sat down to dinner, but as usual, had then gotten caught up in the boisterous crowd of Gryffindors. It was no use relying on a little lucky leaf; she’d have to steer her bit of the universe rather more deliberately.

* * *

“Harry, the meteorite forecast for tonight looks good. Do you want to try wishing on a shooting star, instead of looking for a four-leaf clover?” Luna asked.

“We already had our night for Astronomy this week,” objected Ron. “Plus, there’s that essay for Binns to finish. So I can’t come, but you can tell me how it works out later.”

“You mean it doesn’t turn out that you can only wish on shooting stars that you see when you’re inside a bathroom?” said Hermione, raising her eyebrows. “Harry, you never did tell us what you needed luck for. I hope you’re not relying on good-luck charms instead of revising properly.”

Seeing Harry’s slightly panicked look, Luna couldn’t resist helping him out. “If someone gave you a good-luck charm, what would you hope for, Hermione?”

“The role that luck plays in research is actually infuriating,” she said. “I calculated statistics on the last 50 researchers who were recognized by the Wizarding Historian’s Guild, and nearly 80 percent of them picked their award winning research topic due more to luck than logic. I’ve got that independent project coming up for History of Magic next term, and I really want to have good luck picking a topic.”

“Well, maybe I can make a wish for you, if I see any shooting stars from the Astronomy Tower tonight. Or in a bathroom,” said Luna. The bell rang, and the students scattered.

“Isn’t there anything you’d want to wish for yourself?” Harry asked.

Luna was already part way down the hall, but she turned and walked backwards slowly. “The power actually comes from recognizing and voicing the wish, not from the meteorite. You know, like charming butter out of buttercups.”

Harry blinked. “I don’t...oh, nevermind. See you later?”

* * *

“There’s too much rain to see any stars tonight. I should go finish my essay, but thanks for trying to help with my luck,” said Harry. “I don’t know how to charm butter out of buttercups, either.” He’d been acting more restless than usual as they sat together in the dark.

“Here, Harry. If you really need some luck, take this four-leaf clover. I found it accidentally yesterday, so it should be pretty strong for a few more hours,” said Luna.

“Thanks, Luna! If anyone can find the impossible, it’ll always be you.”

“And I can show you how to charm buttercups next time it’s sunny out. We can take a picnic with scones.”

“That’s amazing!” said Harry. “Your lucky clover worked for me already.”

“It’s not that good of butter,” Luna warned. “I prefer Irish butter.”

“It’s not the butter! I was hoping that if I had more luck, I’d get you to go on a date with me.”

“You mean, kind of like star gazing tonight?”

Harry smacked his forehead. “I was so distracted trying to figure out how to get you to go on a date that I didn’t even notice we were already on a date. Ron is never going to let me live this down.”

“I like you, Harry. Even though it sometimes takes you a while to see things.”

“I like you, too, Luna.”


End file.
